There's only a few more chapters after this, and hopefully an epilogue. Thank you to the reivewers of last chapter! Sorry for the late chapter, finals were killing me.

Remember2smile, Ponytail Goddess, Alenor Peredhel, GreenWood Elf, Heather Allen, Haldir's Heart and Soul, sweetblonde15, lovenhope, walkure13Brynhild, Lady-Anck-su-namun, Elfinabottle, luvthefluf, Lady-Isowen, lostxtortured, Gem of the Stars, Nelarun, ladyiceangel, Sneakerwaif, and vanessacarltonfan


Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.

-Arnold H. Glasgow


---Chapter Thirty---


Anira sat on the cold ground, staring at the man fast asleep in front of her. It was the perfect timing! They were all drunk, this one was exhausted, and no doubt around this time the Imladris company might head back this way after searching the rest of the forest. One problem stood in the way of all her plans for escape. She was still tied to a tree, quite tightly and constrictingly.

She pulled as hard as she could with her injured wrists, but to no avail. The same went for the rope around her ankles, which refused to give out as well. She froze, holding her breath as she saw the man move and shift in his sleep. Seconds later he had turned and faced away from her on his side, falling back asleep.

She let the breath out warily, trying not to make a sound. Her eyes searched the clearing for something, anything, that would cut through the tough bindings. A sharp rock, a random branch, a forgotten dagger. Nothing seemed within reach. The clouds shifted overhead, the moonlight that was revealed made something glint on the man's body. Anira looked closer and saw a long knife tied loosely to his cloak. She tested the length of freedom, which seemed to be enough, and prepared to take it.

Her body leaned forward, inching closer to the collapsed man and his nice shiny dagger. Anira gasped and then closed her mouth quickly when the rope cut into her wrists. Wincing in pain, she realized she still had a few more inches to go. She ignored the stinging and burning on her wrists and edged closer, finally reaching the man. Her arms were pulled to their breaking point, along with her ankles. Anira grimaced and leaned her head down to get the long knife. She crinkled her nose at the smell of him, trying to put the thought of him and his body odor out of her mind as she delicately began to undo the loose knot with her teeth.

After a few moments of struggling, she released the long knife and dragged it back with her to the tree. She breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath. The knife lay in her lap, a twisted, dangerous thing that seemed to leer back at her with malice. Anira gripped the knife and began to drag it back and forth across the ropes.


"I'm coming with you," Haldir looked up to see Bercalion approaching him in the stables. He had been up at dawn ready and prepared to take a horse out and begin his own search. Haldir nodded and Bercalion gathered his things.

"I've never seen you like this," Bercalion said. Haldir stilled his movements, his back towards Bercalion.

"Like how?" He asked tentatively. Haldir could almost hear him shake his head and give up trying to explain his thoughts.

"Like your very life depends on this elleth, which I have no doubt it does," he finally said.

"I must agree with you on that," Haldir answered.

"Nestaron and Neurion will be scouting, if you want them to. They asked, I did not persuade them." Haldir agreed, leading his horse out of the stables to find both of the brothers waiting for him. He gave them orders and they sped off, with Bercalion and he following swiftly behind.


With a frustrated sigh, Anira drew the knife back again. The rope that was tied around her ankle seemed to be impossible to break. The thick, braided leather refused to give. The sun was already rising, she had worked on her bindings the entire night. Panicking, she looked around the clearing at the makeshift tents and at the passed out guard beside her. No one had yet stirred, but within a few hours she had no doubt they would be awake.

Fatigue made her vision blur, causing the knife to slip. She gasped as she slit her hand and the blood began to spill over the ground. Anira raised her head sharply when she caught the sound of horses in the distance. With renewed vigor, she began to cut harder.

Had they sent others? Hope sprung anew within her. This time the men couldn't hide her and escape a confrontation, or at least she hoped. The rope was nearly severed, a few last hardy strings of it were still holding together tightly. The rope snapped and Anira let out a sigh of satisfaction. After a night's work of trying to free herself she felt ready to collapse from exhaustion. The horses drew nearer.

There was a gasp beside her, the once still body began to move and sit up. Anira felt her spirits sinking, dread creeping back into her thoughts. She sat frozen in fear, her mind telling her to run but her body saying to stay still. The man sat up entirely, rubbing his face from sleep and dazedly turning towards her. When his eyes caught sight of the dagger and the severed ropes, he lunged for her. She screamed as his grungy hands grabbed her roughly and held her fast against him, stopping all movement. His hand covered her mouth once more and smothered all sounds she was attempting to make.

"What is it?" The leader strode from the head tent, clearly annoyed. "Could you at least shut her up? She's probably alerted the entire forest by now," he muttered.

"If they've heard, it will draw them straight to the camp," the guard said, clutching her tighter and making the grip painful.

"Take her into the forest, away from here. When they come, we can pass ourselves off as hunters," he replied. The guard nodded curtly and began to drag her with him. She struggled every step, jerking away from him just to have him yank her back. Weakness began to wash over her, a result of the lack of food. The guard eventually picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. She screamed again before the man was able to stuff something in her mouth to quiet her.

He stopped in a remote space between the trees, surrounded by thick and lowhanging branches. The man looked up sharply, sensing a presence above, but the branches waved innocently back at him and he dismissed them. He set her down and held her still, waiting for a signal to return to camp.


"Do you think they have found her yet?" Pelardiel asked. She smoothed her skirts nervously and tried to hush her child's fussing. Dinendal looked at her from across the table where Ralanth and Indilwen sat at his side.

"I am sure they will, meleth. Haldir will find her," Dinendal reassured her. Pelardiel seemed slightly pacified, but her brow remained furrowed.

"If the Imladrian guard could not locate her, then what could have been the reason for her disappearance?" Indilwen asked. "Surely she did not run off, that's not like her. And she and Haldir had just fixed things between them," she stared at her tea, glancing out into the courtyard occasionally.

"She did not run off, I can assure you of that. She probably went for a ride and was... delayed. Perhaps her horse fell in a ravine or she has become caught in some mire, nothing that would harm her," Pelardiel stated, mostly trying to convince herself. Indilwen reluctantly nodded her head in agreement.


"There are tracks leading off the road here," Bercalion noted. Haldir dismounted and inspected them more closely before jumping back on his horse and signaling for him to follow. They crept through the close trees and thorny undergrowth, picking the safest way to avoid injury. Haldir's horse reared when a shrill scream echoed throughout the forest. He turned his horse in the direction of the scream and set off at full gallop.

He listened closely for another sound, anything to give away her whereabouts, if it was her. His thoughts had immediately made a conclusion that it was Anira, and it most likely was. Bercalion pulled his horse up beside him as they dodged fallen branches and slippery leaves that littered the forest floor.

The trees opened up to a moderate clearing, surrounded by such tall trees that Haldir doubted the clearing was a place many people knew about. Crude tents surrounded a fire that had been put out abruptly during the night, the charred remains barely giving off a stream of smoke. A man walked out to meet them, covered in a black cloak that hid his features.

"Welcome, my friends. What is the reason for your visit?" His voice sounded oddly calm, as if he were covering something up. Haldir scrutinized him, giving him a look that clearly stated that they were not friends.

"I may ask the same of you, for you are certainly not the people of Lord Elrond, and these are his lands," he said. The man paused before answering.

"We are but poor hunters, my lord, traveling from forest to forest to make a living. Lord Elrond of Rivendell has so much land, and endless reserves of resources, we but hoped to make use of some he would not miss," he answered in a humble tone. He bowed slightly for effect.

Haldir looked at Bercalion, raising his eyebrow and clearly not convinced.

"If you are hunters, then where is your catch? Surely your weapons would be here also," Haldir looked around the camp for both of them, finding not a trace of either one of them. He looked at the man expectantly. The man laughed nervously.

"My men are out hunting as we speak, with our weapons and hopefully to return with our catch. If it is not to your liking, we will leave the forest as soon as possible," he replied.

"That is for Lord Elrond to decide, and not I," Haldir answered, making a mental note to mention it to Elrond when they returned. "You didn't by chance hear someone shout, did you? We heard it this way, perchance you have seen something?" The man shook his head, laughing in disbelief.

"No my lord, we have not. Not even an inkling of the like. You are sure you heard a scream?" His hands had begun to shake. Haldir smirked, catching him in the act.

"Now when did I say there was a scream? There is more that you are not telling me, hunter," he began to circle the now quivering man. He whistled into the trees and Neurion dropped soundlessly behind him, rushing forward to contain the man before he bolted. In the struggle, the folds of the man's cloak opened and an insignia appeared on his chest.

"Hold him! Bercalion, search the tents," he said, dismounting his horse and approaching the man. Neurion held his arms back while Haldir examined the insignia. "Orc mercenaries? This far from Mordor?"

Bercalion returned from his search, unsuccessful. "Nothing, perhaps they let her free?" He said. Haldir shook his head. The man before him laughed cruelly, a hoarse, gruff sound. Haldir drew his sword and had it next to his neck in less than a second.

"Where is she?" He asked.

"Who?" The man replied. Haldir pressed the sword harder, causing a slight trickle of blood to flow. The man gasped, but remained silent all the same.

"Neurion, take this man back with you to Imladris, and make sure they send more to round the rest of them up," he said. Neurion nodded and dragged the man to his horse, mounting with him before galloping away towards Imladris. "Where is Nestaron?" Haldir asked. As if on command, Nestaron dropped from the trees as his brother did earlier, out of breath.

"My lord, behind those trees," before he said anything else, Haldir rushed past him, Bercalion following him to where Nestaron had indicated. The branches grabbed at them, and Haldir could hear signs of struggling. He heard a swift hit, and then the sound of someone being knocked to the ground.

"Hold still, I'm sure they'll be gone soon," a voice said, his tone clearly saying he was eager to be rid of someone. Haldir motioned for Bercalion to remain quiet, and to walk slowly. His face hardened when he saw the man clutching Anira tightly, glancing around the trees nervously. She had stopped struggling, defeated, and looked like a lifeless doll in his grasp. The man saw them, and his eyes widened in fear.

"Y-y-you..." he stuttered, trying to figure a way out of the situation. He lunged for his dagger, cursing as he realized it was still laying on the ground where she had pulled it from its sheath and he had failed to pick it back up. He threw Anira on the ground in front of him and bolted the other direction, only going two steps before Nestaron's arrow found its target in his back.

Anira looked up from the ground at him, sighing in relief as she collapsed from exhaustion.


Long chapter then. Hope this makes up for the super long gap between updates (almost two months, I'm ashamed to say). Like stated earlier, two, maybe three more chapters, then an epilogue. If it seems worthwhile to any of you, I will consider a sequel. Thank you for all of your feedback! It is always taken into consideration and stored for future reference. Please review!

-ElfLuver13